Drying attachment for multicolor presses



June 17, 1941. r MAKARIUS 2,245,797

DRYING ATTACHMENT FOR MULTICOLOR ERESSES Filed July 6, 194 0 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 ATTORNEY Jfine 17, 194.1.

DRYING ATTACHMENT FOR MULTICOLOR PRESSES Filed July 6, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR TTORNEY T. MAKARIUS 2,245,797

Patented June 17, 1941 "UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRYING ATTACHMENT FOR MULTICOLOR PTtESSES Theodore Makarius, Flushing, N. Y.'

. Applicationiluly 6, 1940, Serial No. 344,259

Claims.

This invention relates to printing machinery, and more particularly refers to improvements in apparatus for drying inks in multicolor, offset and printing presses.

In the multicolor printing process it is necessary to dry the ink on the paper immediately after each impression. This is generally done by causing the paper to pass around a heated drum before it is delivered from one set of printing cylindersto the next. This procedure can be followed only by using presses which are specially built for the purpose, and are, therefore, more expensive than pressesof comparable size and capacity, of standard design.

Furthermore, the use of rolls or drums having a continuous surface is frequently objectionable on the ground that such surface will in all cases come' into contact with the ink freshly'laid upon the sheet; and may leave marks or otherwise interfere with the clarity of theimpression. In the printing or lithographing of labels, boxes, and other quantity work, it is customary to print a number of them on the same sheet at one impression; the individual printed units being generally disposed in a plurality of rows running in the direction of the paper feed, said rows being laterallylspaced from 'one another, and being therefore separated by blank spaces or strips entirely free of ink'.- t V For transferringsheets from one set of printing cylinders to the next, presses used for the kind of work mentioned are generally equipped with so-called skeleton cylinders, consisting of a number of nar rowwheels or segments mount ed on a shaftfand adapted to be positioned upon said shaft at various laterally spaced positions when the press is preparedfor production. When the press is thus prepared or made-up, these narrow wheels'or segments are fixed upon the shaft at positions corresponding'to the'blank spaces between rowsof individual impressions; so that the fresh ink remains absolutely untouched between successive impressions. This lack of contact naturally insures the production of even and uniform "colored sections; furthermore, the fact that no ink adheres to the surface of the transfer cylinder does away with the necessity of cleaning said surface, a necessity which arises very frequently in practice, where cylinders with a continuous surface" are used, and which entails a material expenditure of time and labor. V

As stated above, in' multicolor printing proo esses a quick drying of the ink appliedat each impression, before the next impression takes of a skeleton cylinderi assembly in a printing place, is essential to the production of clear-cut, sharply defined work in bright and true colors. When an ink of a different color is applied upon, or contiguously to an ink impression in which the ink is imperfectly or insufficiently dried, a certain blending is bound to take place which will result in color tone differences and even. in spotted work when the work is completed.

I am aware that in a broad sense it is not new to expose the freshly printed sheets to the action of heat in order to hasten drying of the ink preparatory to a next impression. The primary object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved. arrangement of heating means adapted to beatt ached to or made part of a printing press, for a quick and eiiicient drying of the ink between successive impressions.

cient combination of a printing pressequipped with skeleton transfer cylinders, with heating means adapted to be applied to such skeleton cylinders without interfering with their normal function, while retaining the advantages deriving from their use. s

A further object is to provide a simple arrangement of drying meansfor multicolor, offset and similar printing presses; adapted to be easily applied to existing machines of standard design, without entailing any change, or other complication in'their'normal operation.

Other 'objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the descriptidnproceeds. and willbeset forth and claimed in the appended claims.

. My invention is illustratedby way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammaticillustration of a conventional' arrangement "of cylinders in an offset multicolorprinting press;

Fig.2 is a fragmentary front View in elevation In Fig. 1; representing a conventional train of cylinders or rollers inan offset printing press, l0 designate'sa plate cylinder, Il a'blanket cylinder transferring the impression from the plate cylinder .to'the incoming sheet, l2, and I3 the impression cylinder cooperating with the blanket cylinder II in producing the first color impression on the upper surface of the sheet. The sheet is then gripped by the grippers of the skeleton cylinder I4, and is thereby delivered to the grippers of a second impression cylinder I5, which cooperates with the blanket cylinder IS in producing the second color impression on said sheet, the blanket cylinder "5 being served by the second plate cylinder From the second impression cylinder l5 the sheet passes to another skeleton cylinder l3, which delivers it to the next color printing set, etc., until the printing is completed and the sheet is finally discharged from the press.

The direction of rotation of the various cylinders, and the path followed by the sheet through-' out the operation are indicated by the arrows and by the dotted line appearing in Fig. 1, and from the same it can be clearly seen that during the travel of the sheet from one impression cylinder to the next, its printed surface faces towards the center of the skeleton cylinder interposed therebetween.

The skeleton cylinder, which is shown more in detail in Figs. 2 and 3, comprises a shaft I9, rotatably mounted on the two side frames 20, 2| of the press, and a plurality of spider wheels or segments 22, 23, 24, 25, 23, adapted to be fixed on the shaft at various laterally spaced positions. Said spider wheels are shiftable along the shaft, so that they can be selectively fixed at such positions as will cause a minimum of interference with the printed sections of the sheets to be handled, as previously explained. The skeleton cylinder assembly also includes the gripper mechanism, which for the sake of clarity is not shown in the drawings, since it has no bearing on the invention. The essence of my invention resides in equipping the press with means for drying the ink of one impression during the period of travel of the sheet to the next impression, by utilizing for the purpose the intervening skeleton cylinder, without interfering with the normal operation .or function of such cylinder.

Means for generating radiant heat, adapted to project the heat directly against the printed sheet wrapped around the skeleton cylinder, without the interposition of any Wall or other obstruction therebetween, can be mounted upon the shaft to rotate with it, generating a heat zone which ex tends around the entire active periphery of the cylinder.

Said heating means are shown in the form'lof radiant heaters each comprising a parabolic re fiector 21 and a resistor unit 28, mounted in circumferential series about a star shaped multiple socket member 29 shiftably fixed on the shaft IS in any suitable manner, for instance, by means of a set screw 30 (see Fig. 4). A star socket is mounted on the shaft l9 within each space intervening between two adjoining spider wheels or segments, and the electrical circuit is preferably arranged so that each unit can be inserted in or cut off the circuit independently of the others. This makes it possible to generate and direct heat only opposite those sections of the sheet 3 I, shown as a dotted line in Figs. 2 and 3, as may require it, and thus prevent unnecessary waste of current.

To this end the various'units may be detachably connected in parallel on a common circuit, as exemplified by the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Referring to said figures, 3-2, 33 designate the supply wires leading to brushes 34,

35, carried by springs 36, 31, respectively. Said brushes are in slipping contact with rings 38, 39, mounted on an insulating bushing 40 fixed on shaft I9. Each of said rings is provided with a terminal 4|, 42, to which are attached the wires 43, 44, of the heat generating circuit.

Said Wires 43, 44, extend longitudinally of shaft IS in a common conductor 45, and at spaced intervals have branch circuits such as 46, in the form of flexible conductors equipped with a socket 41, extending therefrom, one for each multiple socket member 29.

Each multiple socket member 29 is provided with two terminals 48, 49, adapted to be engaged by socket 41 for connection of the multiple socket member to the heat generating circuit 43, 44. Said terminals are in their turn connected to contact bars 50, 5|, embedded in the insulating material of the socket member, by wire 52, ring 53, and wire 54, and by wire 55, ring 56 and wire 51, respectively.

Contact bar 50, together with the bushing 58, constitutes one of the terminals leading the current to the resistor unit 28, and contact bar 5| constitutes the other terminal adaped to contact with terminal 59 of said resistor unit when the plug 50, forming part of the resistor unit, is screwed into its socket, as Fig. 4 clearly shows.-

It is thus obvious that each multiple socket member may be connected to or disconnected from the circuit at will independently of the others and can also be shifted along and. fixed at various longitudinal positions along shaft |,9 by means of set screw 30. 3

' When one of the multiple socket members 29 is disconnected from the circuit, its feed line 45', together with the socket 41, is preferably fastened in any convenient manner onto the adjoining spider wheel or segment; For instance, the spider wheel can be equipped with a'flanged stud BI and a forked holder 62, affording convenient means for winding the conductor, around said stud and inserting its end between the prongs of said forked member 62, sothat the socket 41 will rest upon said forked member, as shown, and the branch connection will not hang loose and become entangled while the shaft is rotating.

When the press is prepared for turning out any particular job, as explained, the spider'wheels'or segments are'shifted to positions along the shaft where they-will least interfere with the printed sections and the sockets carrying 'the heating units are also shifted to such positions where they will prove most effective in directing radiant heat against such printed sections, of the sheet.

From the foregoing it willbe seen thatthe arrangement described can be easily applied on existing presses without requiring any structural changes in the presses themselves.

Furthermore, the arrangement of heating units here advocated does notinterfere in the least with the possibility of covering the spider wheels or segments with an aluminum sheet in order to provide a continuous surface for the skeleton cylinder, a procedure which is, at times followed when the ink is spread over a large portion of the sheet, for the reason that in such cases the spider wheelsor segments might mar the uniformity of the printed surface.

The constructional details of my invention can vary from those shown and described without departin from the inventive idea. The drawings should, therefore, be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes'only and not in a limitingsense. w i I 1 I, accordingly, reserve the right to carry my invention into practice in all those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a printing press, a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a rotatable shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements fixed on said shaft, a heat generating unit mounted on said cylinder intermediate two adjoining elements, said unit being adapted to direct radiant heat towards the peripheral zone of the cylinder.

2. In a printing press, a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a rotatable shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements fixed on said shaft, a socket mounted on said shaft intermediate two adjoining elements, means adapted to generate radiant heat and direct said heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, mounted in said socket, and means for conveying electric current to said heat generating means.

3. In a printing press comprising a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a socket mounted on said shaft intermediate two adjoining elements, means adapted to generate radiant heat and direct said heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, mounted in said socket, and means for conveying electric current to said heat generating means, said current conveying means comprising slip rings mounted on said shaft, brushes connected to an electric source of supply contacting said slip rings, and wires connecting said slip rings to said socket.

4. In a printing press comprising a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a socket mounted on said shaft intermediate two adjoining elements, means adapted to generate radiant heat and direct said heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, mounted in said socket, means for conveying electric current to said heat generating means, said current conveying means comprising slip rings mounted on said shaft, brushes connected to an electric source of supply contacting said slip rings, and means for detachably connecting said socket to said slip rings.

5. In a printing press comprising a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a star-shaped socket mounted on said shaft intermediate two adjoining elements, a plurality of resistor units mounted in said socket, outwardly extending therefrom, and reflectors cooperating with said units in directing radiant heat therefrom towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder.

6. In a printing press comprising a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a star-shaped socket mounted on said shaft intermediate two adjoining elements, a plurality of resistor units mounted in said socket, outwardly extending therefrom, reflectors cooperating with said units in directing radiant heat therefrom towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, means for supplying current to said socket, and means for detachably connecting said socket to said current supplying means.

'7. In a printing press, a skeleton: cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a rotatable shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements fixed on said shaft, a plurality of heat generating units mounted on said cylinder one between each set of two adjoining elements, means for supplying current to said units, and means for detachably connecting each unit to said current supplying means independently of the others.

8. In a printing press, a skeleton cylinder adapted to deliver to a succeeding stage a sheet discharged by a printing couple, said skeleton cylinder consisting of a rotatable shaft and a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements shiftably fixed on said shaft, a plurality of socket members shiftably mounted on said shaft one between each set of adjoining elements, radiant heat generating means carried by said sockets, adapted to direct heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, means for supplying current to said sockets, and means for detachably connecting each socket to said current supplying means independently of the others.

9. In a machine of the character described, a skeleton cylinder comprising a shaft, a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a star-shaped socket member mounted on said shaft intermediate each set of two adjoining elements, a plurality of radiant heat generating units carried by each socket member, said units being adapted to direct heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, and

means for conveying current to said socket members.

10. In a machine of the character described, a skeleton cylinder comprising a shaft, a plurality of laterally spaced relatively narrow elements mounted on said shaft, a star-shaped socket member mounted on said shaft intermediate each set of two adjoining elements, a plurality of radiant heat generating units carried by each socket member, said units being'adapted to direct heat towards the peripheral zone of said cylinder, means for supplying current to said socket members, and means for detachably connecting each socket member to said current supplying means independently of the others.

THEODORE MAKARIUS. 

